Dangote picks Indian firm to oversee major expansion of fertilizer plant

The Dangote Group has appointed India’s Engineers India Limited (EIL) as project manager for a major expansion of its fertilizer complex in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, adding four new production trains to what is already one of Africa’s largest urea plants.

The deal deepens a long-running partnership between the two companies: EIL previously served as project management consultant for the 650,000-barrel-a-day Dangote Refinery, commissioned in 2024.

The fertilizer expansion will lift the complex from two to six ammonia–urea trains, pushing output capacity to roughly 8 million tonnes a year, placing it among the world’s largest such facilities.

It also comes as Dangote pursues a broader industrial build-out. The company is already working to double its refinery’s output capacity and has hired an American engineering firm, Honeywell International, for that effort.

The new fertilizer contract brings in another global partner as Dangote accelerates work across its energy and petrochemical assets.

Aliko Dangote, president of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, said EIL’s appointment “further strengthens the long-standing partnership between Dangote and EIL,” adding that the expanded complex will make the Lekki zone “home to the world’s largest refinery and the world’s largest fertilizer complex.”

“This milestone further strengthens the long-standing partnership between Dangote and EIL, whose proven expertise and consistent excellence have made them our most trusted partner for both the Fertilizer Complex and the Refinery & Petrochemical Complex. With these projects, the Lekki industrial zone is emerging as the region’s powerhouse—home to the world’s largest refinery and the world’s largest fertilizer complex,” he said.

EIL chairperson and managing director Vartika Shukla said the project underscores the company’s commitment to “delivering world-scale assets” in partnership with African industrial players.

The fertilizer complex, which already produces 2.65 million tonnes of urea annually, is a key part of Nigeria’s push to expand domestic fertilizer supply and grow export earnings from agricultural inputs.